Falstaff
seems like the ideal opera for this company, not least because the
whole of the last act takes place in a West London park. Yet this
production is the first Holland Park has ever staged. It is their
last offering for the year, and they've ended the season on a real
high.

Director
Annilese Miskimmon was responsible for the greatest triumph in last
year’s season, l’Amico Fritz
in a production that updated the action to the 1950s. This Falstaff
shares many of the qualities on display
there. Miskimmon clearly takes a hands-on approach to every aspect
of her stagings, so nothing is left to chance, and everything that
happens integrates into a considered and well though out
interpretation. The result is a staging that is slick, funny and
sexy. And while the historical setting has been changed, every lyric
and performance direction is acknowledged, occasionally with a clever
twist, but never at the expense of the work itself.

The
production transports the action to London, or Windsor rather, in the
immediate aftermath of the First World War. This idea may have been
inspired by Falstaff’s discharge from military service at the
start, but after that its rationale grows thin. All the union jacks,
bunting and maypoles may be intended to underline issues of national
identity, although that was hardly a priority for the composer or
librettist here.

So
no real psychological insights from the updating, but it does provide
an excellent visual theme for a stage aesthetic that is both
attractive and coherent. There’s plenty of slapstick here too,
which is all the finnier for its tight choreography. The men
appearing onstage invariably end up dressed as priests or policemen,
or rather comedy priests and comedy policemen. Verdi and Boito
provide the details to fill out this scenario, and it all runs like
clockwork.

Musically,
this performance was impressively strong. As ever at Holland Park,
most of the singers are up-at-coming, and while all put in fine
performances, many suggested they could be giving more consummate
readings of their roles in five or ten years time. This was
particularly true of the female leads, Linda Richardson as Alice, and
Rhona McKail as Nanetta, both of whom had all the notes under
control, but could just do with a little more finesse, especially at
the top. George von Bergen, in the role of Ford, is another name to
watch. His voice is light, but he has a real verismo sound, and the
complexity and dark richness to his tone allows him to convey an
extraordinary range of emotions.

It
is rare to find a singer who is able to fill the marquee that
constitutes an auditorium at Holland Park, a problem their policy of
hiring younger singers can only exacerbate. How refreshing then to
hear Olafur Sigurdarson sing Falstaff with as much power and presence
as the venue and the role demand. Sigurdarson was born to sing
Falstaff, both his voice and his body language are ideal for the
part. And while he is able to fill the venue with sound, he can also
bring the timbre of his singing down, almost to speaking, a talent
Verdi’s music often requires. And his roly poly slapstick was
excellent, fitting precisely to the mood and pace of the music.

In the
pit, the orchestra had a better night of it than they did for last
week’s premiere of Onegin. A few more strings had been booked,
which was a great help. The orchestra was still relatively small, but
the tuttis never suffered, and conductor Peter Robinson was able to
create all the havoc he needed for the bust ups and brawls, while
always keeping the ensemble tightly controlled.

An
excellent end to Holland Park’s 2012 season then. Falstaff was here
presented as a real ensemble piece, with almost uniform musical
quality from the cast, and a production that finds meaningful
interpretations for each of their roles. But the real star of the
show was undoubtedly Olafur Sigurdarson. If you get the chance to
hear him sing Falstaff, here or anywhere else, make sure you go.

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Gavin Dixon is a writer, journalist, editor and blogger specialising in classical music. He writes reviews and articles for a number of publications and websites. Gavin has a PhD on the Symphonies of Alfred Schnittke and is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is also a member of the editorial team behind the ‘Alfred Schnittke Collected Works’ edition, which recently began publication in St Petersburg. More information on Gavin’s writing activities can be found at his website: www.gavindixon.info